Gank That Mother!
by Olivia Crane
Summary: In this flashback AU, Dean and Sam have a half-sister named Erin. Takes place in 2001. Erin decides to get her brothers talking again after an argument. Trouble ensues when the Winchester siblings have a run in with a pod of very fishy monsters. Will they be able to manage...together? Good quality content only. Kept as canon as possible.
1. What Would Buffy Do?

_This is just a writing exercise I'm using to loosen up some writer's block I'm having. Probably won't go past this first chapter, but if I get some good feedback, I'll continue. Just thought a bit of an AU flashback with a half-sister character could be interesting. Let me know what you think! _

2001

Erin Winchester drummed her pencil on her book and sighed.

"Not giving up so soon, are you?" Bobby asked, taking a frosty Coke out of the fridge and putting it down in front of her.

"Well, this book is just so you stupid, Bobby. It's frustrating."

"Uh-huh." Bobby said skeptically, and took a seat across from her at the kitchen table. "Mind if I take a look see?"

"It's Franz Kafka. Metamorphosis. The premise is just unrealistic." She explained, brushing a strand of long, unruly red hair behind her ear. "I mean, if someone in your family turns into a giant cockroach overnight, you don't just lock him in your parlor and try to act like it never happened. You find out why, and then you find yourself a hoodoo lady or something to put them back to factory settings. And then you find out who-or what-did it, and you gank that mother. These characters are just so…I mean, they're just like, "Oh, well that sucks. Sucks to be you, Gregor.""

"Well, most normal people's brains aren't wired like a hunter's, Erin. Just go with it. Take the quiz, get the grade, and then you can get to "ganking"." Bobby shook his head. "Ganking. You kids and your words."

"Okay." Erin said, absent mindedly taking a sip of her drink. "I've just got a chapter left, which is good, because Buffy comes on at seven."

"Is that tonight?" Bobby asked.

"Yup. Things are getting serious with Spike, I think. Yowza."

"That's our little secret, Erin, remember." Bobby said. "I don't watch, and have never watched, Buffy the Vampire Slayer."

"And that's the official party line." Erin winked conspiratorially at her pseudo-uncle.

"Your dad wouldn't like that I'm letting you watch a show like that anyway. You know to run away from monsters, right? Not to date them."

"Sigh. You give me this lecture every Tuesday night. Yes, vampires kill. Blah blah. I'm seventeen. I'm a grown ass woman, Bobby. Hey-are you my family's Giles? You're totally Giles."

"I will ground your "grown ass woman" ass, don't forget." Bobby issued the empty threat. Erin never really needed grounding.

"Sure you will." Erin smiled sweetly. "Hungry? I can make us some grilled cheeses."

They were interrupted by a knock on the door. Three taps, then a pause, and then two more.

"Dean! Dean's back early." Erin beamed, and stood up to let him in. She crushed him in a hug, her head only reaching his chest.

"Hey, Kidlet!" Dean hugged her back.

"Did you and Dad get the windego? Where is Dad? He's not-?"

"No, no. He had some business in Wyoming, he said, after we finished the case. So I figured I'd come see my little sister."

"Well, not entirely so little." Erin defended, squaring her shoulders and trying to look as tall as her 5'1'' frame would allow. "Not so little that I couldn't go on a spring break trip with my friends. In two weeks." She tried to make her eyes look wide and adorable. "Maybe somebody could suggest to Dad that I should be allowed to go?"

Dean rolled his eyes. "When will you and Sam learn that the puppy dog eyes do nothing to me? No. You're not going on a spring break trip. Right, Bobby?"

"It's probably best that you stay here." Bobby told Erin. "Things can get pretty wild on those sorts of trips."

Erin sighed. "Seriously? I'm not some civilian. I'm a Winchester, for God's sake. I can handle myself."

"It's not you we don't trust." Dean said.

"Exactly." Bobby re-affirmed. "It's other people."

"Ugh!" Erin stamped her foot. "This is so unfair! My friend Alexis' parents are going, and her dad is a fireman, so it's gonna be safe."

"Oooh, a fireman." Dean mocked, pulling his half-sister's hair lightly. "Look, if you want to go somewhere so badly, maybe you can come with me and Dad somewhere. It's been a while since you've been on a case. Can't have you getting rusty, can we?"

"A case isn't the same thing as spring break."

"Ah. You want to go have fun with your friends." Dean clarified. "Bikinis, boys. Maybe a few drinks or something. Hell, you have at least three IDs that say you're 21. Am I right? Because, I know girls like that. Wanting to get a little wild, let off a little steam, you know?"

"Well, yeah, I guess so. Maybe. Not really crazy or anything, but it's not like I've never had a beer or anything-"

"Yeah, you're not going." Dean said. "I will be damned if I see my little sister on MTV."

Erin crossed her arms. "It's not fair. I just want to do one normal thing. Is that so wrong?"

"No." Dean said. "But that normal thing is not going to spring break. We could go camping. You love camping."

"Maybe we could go to Palo Alto?" she suggested, and Bobby sighed.

"Sweetie, I don't think Sam would like it if we just showed up on his doorstep unannounced." Dean said.

"Well, then, I guess we should call him first, then." Erin replied, biting her lower lip.

Bobby shuffled his feet uncomfortably. "Erin, um, maybe you should just go finish up studying. Your show comes on soon, so finish up."

"Her show? Bobby, you're not letting her watch Buffy, are you? That gives a bad message about dating monsters."

"He didn't say Buffy." Erin narrowed her eyes. "How do you know when Buffy comes on?"

"Shut up, Erin. I don't watch chick shows." Dean ruffled her hair as she smirked at him.

"Uh-huh." She laughed. "We can watch together. Our little secret, right?"

"Yeah, Kidlet. I mean, uh, if Bobby doesn't mind. I guess we could, uh, humor you and your silly, girlie vampire show."

"Yeah, yeah. And then we can talk about spring break again?"

"Don't push it, sweetie." Bobby said.

So, should I keep going? How do you folks like Erin? If I do keep going, I'll probably include a monster we haven't seen on the show yet.


	2. Origin Story

_Thanks to my lovely reviewers! I guess I will continue and see where this goes. It's a nice stress-reliever during study breaks, if nothing else. Hope you enjoy!_

When Erin came downstairs for breakfast, she was surprised to see Dean at the kitchen table. He often stayed for a few hours on his visits, and then quickly left, off chasing another monster.

"Made some coffee." He said.

"Good morning." Erin said. "I didn't expect you'd be here." She poured herself half a cup of coffee, then filled up the rest of the mug with milk. She grabbed a Pop-tart out of the cupboard and handed one to her brother. "Frosted blueberry. Your favorite."

"Thanks, Kidlet." Dean said. "I can drive you to school today, if you want."

"I have my own car." Erin said, but seeing her brother's fallen expression, she quickly said, "But I'd be happy to ride with you. The Impala is way nicer than my old Mustang, anyway."

"Yeah, still giving you problems? I can take a look at it while you're in class." Dean offered.

"You're being really um, helpful this morning." Erin commented.

"Yeah. What of it?"

"It's just, uh…I mean, I'm happy you're here, but, don't you have a hunt or something?"

"I want to spend time with my little sister." Dean said. "Is that a crime? And, holy crap, are you actually wearing that?" He looked up from his coffee long enough to notice her outfit. An inch or two of her flat belly was exposed.

"It's a midriff top." She explained. "Everybody is wearing them."

"Yeah, well, you're not everybody. Go put on some real clothes, huh, Kidlet?"

"I'm not a kid." Erin replied obstinately. "And this is my favorite shirt. I look awesome in it."

"Too awesome." Dean replied. "Guys will be all over you. Go put on a sweater."

"I'll put on a sweater if you do." She crossed her arms, while Dean grumbled, knowing that he'd lost.

"Where do you get your stubbornness from, hmm?"

"Gee, I don't know."

"Just…don't let anybody give you a hard time, okay? And know that guys are only after-"

"_One thing_, Dean, I _know_. I'm not a little kid."

"You're always gonna be my little sister, Erin." Dean said. "Whether you're seventeen or thirty-seven." He ruffled her hair.

"Jesus, Dean, I just straightened that!"

Dean chuckled. "Come on, you're gonna be late."

They walked outside to the shining black Impala, and Erin frowned as she slung her backpack into the floor.

"What's with you this morning, anyway, Dean? Why all the sentimental sibling love crap? This doesn't have anything to do with Sam, does it?"

"No." Dean lied, unconvincingly, and started the car. "I just want to spend time with my little sister before she's all grown up, you know? Is that such a crime?"

"You mean, like Sam? You think I'm gonna graduate up and go away, and never call again, right?" She bit her bottom lip. "Well, like hell I am. I'm a hunter, Dean. It's all I can picture myself doing. I may take some college classes or something, you know. But I'd major in something useful to the family business, like paranormal anthropology or something like that. And just because Sammy is, well…" Erin trailed off.

Her brother going away to school and more or less cutting off all contact with them had broken her heart, even though she pretended it didn't.

"You don't have to worry about losing me, Dean." Erin said. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Damn right, you're not." Dean smiled. "Always can count on you, can't I, kidlet?"

"What else would I be doing? I'm the bastard love-child of a hunter and a bayou witch. I'm here because of a few wine coolers, irresponsible birth control, and a very temporary love spell. I'm destined for weird. May as well embrace it, right?"

Dean nodded. He remembered when his dad had first brought Erin home. She'd just been a tiny, wrinkled pink thing, swaddled in one of John's spare flannel shirts. His father looked shell-shocked as he entered the motel room, and there was a little bit of blood splattered onto his blue jeans. "Dean, this is your sister." He'd gasped.

"Sister?" Dean had wrinkled his nose, still quite unsure of where babies came from. It seemed a bit silly to him, to bring another baby home when they already had Sammy. "Does she have a name?"

Sam had been brought home with much more fanfare than this, and his name had been chosen long before his mother had been to the hospital.

"Delphine Lisette Boudreux." John said. "How's your brother? Is he okay?"

Dean had nodded. "He's sleepy, though." And the truth was, Dean was sleepy, too. But how could he go to bed when John wasn't around? Who would stay up and watch Sammy?

"Yuck. That's not her name." Dean said. "That's a really, really, dumb name. Even for a girl baby."

"Well, then, son, what would you call her?"

"Erin." Dean said, repeating a name he'd read just that morning, on the nametag of a waitress at a diner. She had been a particularly nice waitress, and had even sprinkled chocolate chips onto Dean's pancakes.

"Erin." John had smiled in spite of himself. "Erin Winchester. What about a middle name, son? Yours is Theodore, and Sam's is Franklin."

"Do all middle names have to be awful?" Dean asked so sincerely that John chuckled a little.

"No, no. It can be whatever you want."

"Hmm." Dean looked the baby over, "Axel." He said, with finality.

"Axel?" John asked. "You sure about that, son? Why?"

"Because it's awesome. You said I could name her." Dean pointed out.

John nodded. "So I did. Okay. Erin Axel Winchester, welcome to the family." He sighed a little, and handed the sleeping baby to Dean. He unlaced his boots, and fell asleep in his still-grimy clothes, on top of the coverlet.

"Good luck on your quiz today." Dean told her. "And try to keep that tummy covered. I mean, _Jesus_, Erin."

"See you after school, Dean." Erin rolled her eyes and got out of the Impala. "Maybe we could wrangle Bobby into seeing a movie or something."

"Maybe."

"Okay." Erin waved good-bye and slung her backpack over her shoulder. She walked into the small building. Bobby's hometown wasn't big, and neither was the high school. She'd been to much bigger school districts in her life, and how familiar everyone was with everyone else in the little town sort of bothered her. The constant small-town gossip, too, was also a little maddening.

But Sam and Dean had insisted that John let her stay with Bobby for a semester or two, to follow through with her senior year in one place. She'd managed to make a few friends, and living with Bobby was fun. He didn't give her many rules, unlike her father. And he always found a way to make research and training seem like fun. He wasn't as intense as John, and Erin enjoyed the difference.

Her friends were clustered around the lockers when she came in. Alexis chatted at warp speed as Jill passed around a tube of strawberry Lip-Smackers, while Kimberly drew hearts around the male members that adorned her "Friends" cast poster. Erin didn't have a poster in her locker. She had a false back with holy water, salt, and a silver knife behind it. She guessed that might be why everyone hung around Kimberly's locker.

"Oh my God, Erin." Jill said. "Who was that dude that dropped you off? His car is just so…and his hair is just like,"

"He was capital "h" hot. Is he your boyfriend?" Alexis asked.

"A world of "ew"." Erin cringed. "That's my big brother."

She got things like this all the time. Funnily enough, so did Sam and Dean. Why did people always think the Winchester siblings were couples? Erin thought that the family resemblance was enough to make their relation obvious. Not obvious enough, though, apparently.

"Is he single?" Kimberly asked.

"Dear God, yes." Erin replied. "But he's not interested in a ball and chain." She echoed her brother's own words. "He's pretty invested in his job."

"What a waste. He just seems really kissable." Jill sighed, dreamily.

"Excuse me while I go pour acid in my ears. I'm not going to be able to un-hear that." Erin said.

"Lighten up a little, E." Alexis said. "Did you ask your dad about spring break yet?"

"Yeah." She lied. There was no way she was going to ask John about it unless Dean or Bobby put in a good word for her, first. "He's thinking about it. I may go to Palo Alto, though. My brother has his own place up there."

"The hot brother?"

"You're going to give me a stroke, Jill. Hell, do you guys ever think of anything besides boys?"

"Boy's lips." Alexis clarified, laughing. "Oh, come on, Erin, live a little. Maybe go talk to Cody Wallis after math class. I can tell you like him.

"I do not!" she protested. "He likes me, that's all. I don't like him back."

"Okay, sure you don't." Kimberly said. "I'm uber-bored. You guys want to go get some frozen yogurt after school?"

"This has nothing to do with the fact that Cody Wallis works at the Fro-Yo Palace, now does it?" Erin asked, feeling annoyed.

"Maybe." Kimberly giggled. "You should totally go for it."

"No." Erin said. "No, I don't think I will."

"Are you scared?" Alexis said.

"No." Erin said. "It's just, all the guys around here are just so…" Normal. Dull. Boyish. "Plain, I guess?"

Being raised around hunters sort of raised the bar for the caliber of man she needed to bring home. If she dated some regular Joe who sold frozen yogurt and wore cargo pants, she was pretty sure that her family would eat him alive. And then again, there was the risk that a monster problem would crop up at some point and he would, quite literally, _get eaten alive_. Was this how Buffy felt?

Erin couldn't wait for school to be over so she could go back to Bobby's and do some research. Maybe help Dean find a new case. She liked her friends, but sometimes their problems and interests just seemed terribly small to her.

And she just didn't really fit in at all.

_Okay, so there was a bit of background info. Did you guys have as much fun seeing flashback John with Dean as I did? _


	3. Roofies Taste Like Tonic Water

Chapter 3:

Erin Winchester knew very well that she would be in major trouble when she snuck into her car at 4 a.m., with a suitcase full of clothes and a sock full of wadded up cash and her collection of fake ID's.

She had made up her mind to leave at the dinner table that night. Bobby had ordered pizza for the millionth time, and Dean stood off to the side, with the phone pressed against his ear. His fingers anxiously played with the curly landline cord while he waited for an answer.

There was none, just like Erin knew there wouldn't be. The way Dean hung up the phone, with a hard, angry clack, made her wince, especially when he sat down at the table and didn't speak. He just slumped his shoulders and picked at his pizza like he wasn't even hungry anymore.

That's when Erin decided that she was finished with this nonsense. Sam wasn't picking up the phone? Well, she had an entire week off school and nothing to lose. So why not go to Palo Alto and talk to Sam in person? Get her brothers talking again. She packed her bag and got a few hours of sleep, and then slinked off.

It was simpler than she had anticipated. Dean and Bobby slept soundly while she tiptoed her way out of the back door. The other hunters may have been stronger than her, but she had always been much more adept at stealth. She smiled to herself as she started her car, keeping her headlights off until she was well away from the house.

She reached her destination in a day's time, only stopping once to grab some lunch. She figured that Bobby and Dean would be going crazy trying to find her, so she gave them a quick phone call.

"Yes this is Erin and yes I'm okay but I'm taking some personal time so I'll call you later okay bye."

She hung up the dingy payphone in some no-name town in the middle of nowhere before Bobby could give her the inevitable lecture.

Was this plan a little crazy? Probably. But she was just so tired of her brothers giving one another the silent treatment. It was bad enough that their dad was off sulking alone and hunting God knows what. She figured that if she talked to Sam first, buttered him up a little, that maybe he would give Dean a call and they could all hug and make up and maybe go out for ribs or something.

She arrived around three a.m.

She hadn't expected to show up at Sam's apartment to find him making out with a girl on his couch. She immediately regretted not having knocked.

"Um…hey, Sammy." She waved a little, feeling very awkward.

The couple jumped, startled, and Erin could see that the blushing girl had very pretty blonde hair. Was it possible that Sam had gotten taller?

"Erin!"

"Yeah…I, uh, let myself in."

"I can see that." Sam smoothed down his shirt and ran a hand through his hair. "Jess, Erin. Erin, Jess."

"Sam's little sister." The exasperated girl said, trying to subtly wipe saliva from her mouth. "Pleased to meet you. Sam's told me all about you."

"Same." Erin lied politely and shoved her hands into her pockets and rocked back and forth on her feet. "So…"

"What are you doing here? Is everything okay?" Sam asked.

"Yeah. I just…it's spring break, and I missed you, so I decided to hop on over and visit. Totally should have knocked. I realize that now."

"It's okay." Sam said, and got up to give his little sister a hug. "I missed you too. You just surprised me, that's all. I can't believe that Dad let you come all this way by yourself."

"Oh, he didn't." Erin said, her mouth twisting mischievously. "I just got in my car and drove. I didn't tell anybody."

"You did what now?"

"Um…" Jess stood up, sensing the tension in the room. "I'm gonna go to bed. Let you guys catch up."

"Yeah." Sam said, giving her a peck on the lips. "Yeah, goodnight. Love you."

"To the moon and back." Jess beamed. "It was good to meet you, Erin."

"Yeah." Erin said. "Maybe I'll see you later."

Jess made a graceful exit, leaving two of the Winchester siblings alone.

"Real nice place you got here, Sammy. Ikea furniture. Posh."

"Erin, why didn't you tell anyone you were coming here?"

"Because they would have stopped me. They treat me like a child."

"Why did you come here, anyway?"

"Because." She obstinately crossed her arms. "I haven't seen my big brother since last July. And I haven't heard from him since Christmas. Do you know how that feels? Oh, yeah, you do. Because you haven't been answering Dean's phone calls. And it's just not…it's just not very nice, Sam."

"I've been really-"

"If you say, "busy", I swear, I will punch your stupid face."

Sam sighed. "Look, E, I just-"

"Don't call me E."

"Don't call me Sammy."

"Fair enough." Erin conceded. "But I came here for a purpose, and that purpose is to make you and Dean speak again. And I'm not leaving until you two talk."

"We had a really big fight the last time we were together." Sam said.

"Yeah, I know. I was there for the fireworks. But this is just so stupid. Please, Sam. One phone call."

"Maybe later." Sam sighed. "You want something to drink? I have Cokes or ginger ale."

"Got any PBR?"

"No, E, you're too young for beer."

Erin found his fridge and grabbed two of the glass bottle Cokes that were chilling inside.

"Ooh… fancy." Erin smiled appreciatively. "Here, I'll get you one, too."

"Erin, you can't stay here." Sam said. "Jess doesn't know anything about my old life. You or Dean being around, that would just raise too many questions that I'm not ready to answer."

"Seriously? You haven't seen me in almost a year, and that's like, the first thing you tell me? Seriously?!"

"I still want to see you, E. Just not around Jess, okay? I'll meet you for breakfast, okay? 8:00, at a place called Coffeeopolis. Okay?"

"Um, no, I don't think I will." Erin frowned, trying not to cry as tears prickled at the back of her eyelids, threatening to spillover. "If you can't talk to me in front of your girlfriend, if your own sister is not good enough to fit in with your little perfect life up here, then I would hate to inconvenience you at all. So…I'm not even gonna say anything else, because everything I have to say right now is just really, really mean."

"Erin-"

"Oh, don't "Erin" me, Sammy. I'll show myself out." She sneered.

She spun on her heel and stormed out, slamming the door behind her.

How could he be such a profound jerk? She slammed her car door and sped out of the parking lot, only slowing when she found a little beach front bar that looked like a nice place to sit and mope. It looked comforting and familiar, like so many of the dives that she and Dean frequented on hunts.

The inside of the place was brightly colored and cheesily decorated in a luau theme, obviously done for tourists. A few customers meandered around, but it was pretty late, so there wasn't a huge crowd assembled. A young man played guitar in the corner of the bar, and about ten dreamy-eyed women watched him as if in awe, mesmerized. This was strange to Erin, because his music didn't sound all that impressive. It was average, at best.

She slapped a ten dollar bill onto the counter, and ordered a club soda with lime.

"Do you have a phone, sir?" She asked the bartender, a balding man in his mid-40s, with a vulgar mermaid tattooed on his meaty forearm.

"Sure thing, kid." He said. "Behind the bar, babydoll. I won't tell if you won't."

"Thanks." She said. She went around and dialed Dean's number.

"Dean, hey, it's me."

"Erin? Where the hell are you?!"

"Don't get mad, okay? I'm in Palo Alto."

"Palo Alto. I knew it. Just stay where you are. I'm only an hour or two away. Stay where you are. Damn it, kidlet, I am going to wring your neck. What the hell is the matter with you?"

"I just wanted us all to spend some time together like old times. But Sam was not…cooperative. Look, this whole thing was a bust. I just want to go home. I'm sorry."

"Erin Axel Winchester, do not think that you can get off the hook by apologizing. You are in so much trouble, young lady."

"Did you seriously just middle-name me?"

"Erin, don't get smart. You ran off. Didn't leave a note, nothing. Do you realize that you almost gave me and Bobby heart attacks?"

"You didn't call Dad, though, did you?" Erin bit her bottom lip, nervously.

"No, I figured I knew where you were gonna go. No need to get him all fired up."

"You are a god among men, Dean Winchester."

"I am going to kill you. Like, literally kill you, you know. And then resurrect you, so I can kill you again."

"Aww. I love you too, big brother."

Dean's tone changed from angry to resigned, and Erin knew that he would forgive her. They'd probably laugh it off over pancakes in a few hours. "Where are you, you skinny little brat?"

Erin smiled. "I'm at a bar by the beach. It's called Larry's Lamprey Shack."

"Don't budge. I'll be there in an hour."

"Got it."

"You're still in trouble, kidlet."

"Yeah, yeah." Erin teased. "See you in a bit."

She hung up the phone, and the bartender smiled at her.

"Working out some problems, little lady?"

"Yeah." She said. "Thanks for letting me use your phone."

"No problem. What do you think of our live music over there, huh?"

"It's okay." Erin shrugged. "A little folky. I'm more of a classic rock girl, myself. Nothing like some Zeppellin, amirite?"

"That so?" The bartender's smile widened, giving Erin the creeps, a little. Was something off about this guy, or was she only being paranoid?

She took her seat back on her barstool, and took a swig of her soda, which was beginning to get watered down as her ice melted. It tasted bitter. Erin made a face.

"I don't think this is club soda. It tastes more like tonic water." She said. "Can I get a new one?"

The bartender only smiled. "You can have whatever you like, girlie." He said.

Erin suddenly found herself extremely tired. It was very difficult to hold her eyes open. Was that…had she been drugged?

"Shit." She slurred, as she slumped off her barstool and onto the floor.

None of the customers even seemed to notice.

_So, predictions as to what's about to happen? ;) Let me know what you think!_


	4. Oceanids

_Wow, research was fun for this chapter!_

Chapter 4:

Erin came to as the odor of low tide assaulted her nostrils. She looked around. Her hands and feet were bound, but her mouth was free. She was on the floor of a small cave, kneeling on smooth stones near a pool of gurgling, moonlit water. The man from the bar stood in front of her, the one who had been playing guitar.

His tousled honey colored hair hung artfully around his smug, well-defined face. He had his arms crossed over a well-muscled and suntanned chest. He had eyes the color of deep water, and they were inviting as he met her gaze. She averted her eyes. What exactly were these guys, anyway?

"What a dear little lady you are." He said, and reached to brush a piece of Erin's hair behind her ear.

"Let me guess." Erin flinched away from his touch. "This is one of those, "Scream all you want" scenarios?"

The man chuckled.

"Oh, you're a funny one."

"I'm just hilarious." Erin snarked. If she could only stall long enough, she knew that Dean would be looking for her. How long had she been asleep? "Who the hell are you?"

"I am Petrichor, of the Oceanids, son of Oceanus and Tethys." He proudly proclaimed, as if she ought to be impressed.

"I am Erin, of House Winchester, daughter of John Winchester." She mocked. "Now let me go before I kick your ass back to the Parthenon. You picked the wrong girl out of that bar, buddy. I'm a _Winchester_, for god's sake. Does that mean a thing to you?"

Petrichor laughed. "Not in the slightest. I fear no mortal. Erin. Lovely. Lyrical. I like your candor, little Erin. Even when you have no true power, you retain your inner strength. We'll get along swimmingly."

"Why am I here? What the hell do you even want from me?"

"I want you to have a drink with me." He smiled, his white teeth glinting in the grotto's gloom.

"Most guys would just ask." Erin said. "But then, you're not most guys. Weirdo." Okay, so maybe normal, dull guys weren't so bad after all.

"Erin." He trilled her name, almost in sing-song, and bent down to look into her eyes. She tried to pull away from his gaze, but was held fast, unable to move. Her heart pounded as he brushed his lips over hers. Within an instant, her fears faded away, and she was entirely calm. He kissed her again, and a feeling of profound peace overwhelmed her. She couldn't remember ever having felt so safe in her life.

Petrichor smiled and picked up a white, ornately carved chalice from where it had been waiting on the floor. It was brimming with a dark liquid.

"Here, my darling. Drink." He held it to her lips, and Erin obeyed.

-Scene Break-

Dean had managed to remain more or less calm when he arrived at the bar and his sister was nowhere to be found.

The entire bar, in fact, was empty. No one was there, not even a manager in the back, but all the doors were unlocked.

He followed the steps he was supposed to take in an emergency. One. Keep a clear head. Two. Look for clues. Find out what's happening.

He took a deep breath and steadied himself, not wanting to overreact. Should he call Bobby? Maybe Erin had just stepped out for a while or something. But no, she had said she would be here. And where was everybody else? It was Spring Break in a college town, next to a beach. This place should have been crawling with drunken coeds, even at this hour. Something was terribly wrong; he could feel it in the pit of his gut. Should he call John? Dear God, no. Definitely not. Not yet, anyway.

He took another deep breath, and reminded himself that this was just a case. He just had to find a missing person. He did this all the time, literally. He was one of the best. But his hands were shaking, and his thoughts were racing. This wasn't just some monster-of-the-week missing person. This was his sister, his baby sister, his Erin, and his responsibility. If anything had happened to her…

Dean didn't let himself finish the thought. Should he call Sam? _Yeah._ He took another deep breath. Yeah, Sam could help him straighten this out. They'd find her faster between the two of them.

"You better pick up, damn it." Dean muttered as he dialed.

"Hello?" Sam groggily answered. "Dude, it's like five in the morning. Can the family drama wait for the daylight hours?"

"That's what you're leading with? Hello to you, too, sunshine." Dean said. "Look, we don't have time to dick around. I can't find Erin and this whole bar is empty, and-just get your ass down here. Now. We have to find our sister."

"Are you sure she's not pretending to be missing to manipulate us in to working together?" Sam ventured. "It wouldn't be the first time she's pulled weird stuff. Remember that weekend in Dallas? That whole bit she did with the ketchup and the paper clips-"

"Sam, I am not even joking with you right now." Dean said through his teeth. "Get your ass down here and help me figure out what the hell is going on or so help me God-"

Sam sighed. "Okay. Okay, just quit freaking out. I'm sure she's fine." Sam knew very well how much Dean could lose his head where himself and Erin were concerned. "I'll be there soon. Where are you?"

_So…what's gonna happen next, guys? Come back tomorrow to find out! Please review!_


	5. Sea-Change

Chapter 5:

Erin knew that this was a dream, but she didn't know how to get out of it.

She was in a swamp, invisible and incorporeal. There was a group of hooded women clustered around an old, gracefully gnarled oak tree that was dripping in eerie Spanish moss. A fire crackled nearby.

"Hello? Um, can anybody tell me what's going on here?" But they didn't seem to hear her, either.

A beautiful young woman with long red hair and dark, full lips held an infant in her arms, at the center of the group. It couldn't have been more than a few days old, and it was whimpering in the cold. They hadn't put any clothes on the child, and it wasn't wrapped in a blanket, either.

"Vistoire? It's time." One of the older women said to the one holding the infant.

The pieces clicked into place for Erin, then. Vistoire had been her mother's name. John had told her so, once, when she'd asked. She was seeing herself as an infant. These women were part of her mother's coven. She knew what was coming next, and realized that it would be painful to watch.

Vistoire nodded, her expression stony, and kissed the child. "Good-bye, Delphine."

The oldest of the group took a copper knife and sliced open her hand, smearing a streak of blood across the baby's forehead.

"Erzulie, goddess of love, patron of women, we invoke thee." The woman chanted. "Receive this child as payment for your protection. Blood of the witch, blood of the hunter, blood of the earth and blood of the fire."

"Blood of the witch, blood of the hunter, blood of the earth and blood of the fire." The coven repeated in monotone.

The oldest woman threw what looked like a hex bag into the flames, then reached out her bony arms to Vistoire for the baby.

"The child, Vistoire. Give her over."

Suddenly, the old woman clutched at her heart and fell over dead as a gunshot resounded through the bayou.

John Winchester emerged from the shadowy trees, gun smoking and eyes blazing. He took out two more of the witches. A few of them fled from the circle as he pulled a machete out of his boot and dispatched a fourth, who was chanting something sinister in his direction.

Only Vistoire was left, clutching the child to her chest and glaring at the bloodied hunter.

"You killed my sisters."

"They were going to kill my daughter. That is my daughter, isn't it? Blood of a hunter?"

"You should go, John. You've served your purpose." She raised the child over the fire. "She was born to feed Erzulie. That is her destiny."

"Oh, spare me, Vistoire." John trained his gun on her and took a cautious step forward. "Give me the baby. You don't want to kill her. You can't want to. That's your child."

"She's a Boudreaux. Delphine Lisette Boudreaux." Vistoire said, obstinately. "Not a Winchester. You've got no say in what I do with my daughter. I seduced you, and had her for this purpose. To appease the goddess."

"You let go of that girl, and I will kill you." John took another step forward.

"Blood of a witch, blood of a hunter, blood of-" Vistoire's incantation ended as a machete was plunged through her chest from behind. The light quickly faded from her feral eyes as her blood poured out onto the soggy earth. Strong hands pried the baby from her grip, sparing it from the fire.

"Nice one, Bobby." John let out a shaky breath as his friend sighed, letting his weapon fall to the ground. He stepped over Vistoire's fresh corpse, and tried to avoid looking at it.

"You really think this one's yours?" Bobby asked, as he handed the squalling infant to John.

"Missouri saw it in a vision. I trust her." John said. "And anyway," he took off his overshirt and wrapped it around the cold child. "She looks like Dean did when he was first born. Same green eyes."

"Well, she sure hollers like a Winchester." Bobby attempted a joke in the bleak situation, but John didn't smile.

"Thanks for your help, Bobby." John said. "We'd better get out of here. Those others could come back."

The scene faded away as Erin struggled to open her eyes. _Wake up, wake up, wake up, goddammit!_

"Erin! Erin, wake up! Wake up, goddammit!" her brother's harsh and frantic voice cut in to her grogginess and she slowly came around.

"Dean?" she mumbled. "What the hell happened?" Erin's eyes fluttered open as he flung his arms around her neck.

"Holy hell, kid, don't scare me like that." He squeezed her tightly.

"Where are we?" Erin looked around. They were in a sonorous cave, with a pool of lapping ocean water nearby. Her hands had been bound, but the ropes had been severed, she noticed. Daylight shone through cracks in the rock ceiling. Sam stood nearby, gun in hand, on defense.

"Sammy." Erin smiled, in spite of what was going on. "You guys. You're talking." She tried to stand, but Dean gently pushed her back down.

"Whoa, whoa, take it easy, kidlet. You just woke up. What happened? Are you okay? How do feel? Are you thirsty? Sam brought you a bottle of water. Give her some water, Sammy."

"I'm fine. I think." Erin stood up, squinting in the bright sun. "But I don't know how I got here. I was talking to you on the phone at that bar, and then…zilch."

"It's okay." Dean grabbed her hand. "You're okay and that's what matters."

"Thanks, Dean." Erin smiled. "Thanks, Sammy."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Sam asked, hesitantly.

"Yeah, I'm…fine. Weirded out, but okay."

"I am absolutely going to kill you!" Dean exclaimed, once it had been established that Erin wasn't in any mortal danger.

"Ah. There it is." Erin rolled her eyes.

"You just go off without telling anybody where you're going and then you go and get yourself kidnapped or whatever, and…damn, it, Erin! What the hell were you thinking? Hmm? I'll tell you what you were thinking. You weren't! And you're just lucky that Sammy and I were to save your stubborn, reckless ass."

"Yeah, yeah. Save me from what, exactly?" Erin rubbed her eyes, stood up, and looked around. "How did I get here?"

"That's the weird thing. We don't know." Sam answered.

"Erin, do not change the subject when I am lecturing you." Dean said. "You realize that you could have gotten killed? Or worse?"

"But I didn't." Erin said. "Could you please finish cutting the rope off my hands? It's not very comfortable."

Dean took a pocket knife out of his jacket and cut away the last of the binds. Erin rubbed her wrists, grateful for the uninhibited blood flow. "You are so lucky that you got out of this without worse consequences. When we get back to Bobby's, you are on lockdown, do you hear me? No car, no friends, no phone. No tv, either. You're just lucky I don't call dad."

"Yeah, yeah. I figured as much. I'm cool with it. You two are talking again, I didn't get eaten by our mystery monster, and I call that a successful spring break. Who wants breakfast? I'm starving."

"Erin, I don't think you're getting the big picture here. What you did was wrong. And stupid. Really, really stupid."

"Oh, come on, Dean." Sam defended. "She's three months from her eighteenth birthday. We went hunting on our own way younger than that. She just ran into a little trouble, that's all. It won't happen again, right, E?"

"Right, Sammy." Erin gave him a tight hug. She really had missed him. "I actually am sorry, Dean. For worrying you."

"Yeah, yeah. You really ought to apologize to Bobby. He's the one with the old-as-dirt ticker."

"I will be sure to bake him some cupcakes." Erin said, feeling a bit guilty. Her stomach audibly growled at the mention of food.

"We better get some waffles in you, kidlet. You've had a rough night." Dean ruffled her hair.

"Shower first." Erin said. "I feel disgustingly grimy, and I'm sure I smell worse."

"We'll get a room. There's a motel up the street. You coming with, Sam?"

"I'll meet you guys at the restaurant." He rubbed his temples. "I have to go home now and explain to my girlfriend why I left the house at 5 in the morning."

"Did you ever consider maybe telling her the truth?" Erin suggested.

Sam and Dean laughed simultaneously.

"Yeah, okay." Sam scoffed. " 'Hey, Jess? My family hunts nightmares.' I'm sure that would go over really well."

"Whatever." Jules shrugged. "Let's go get my car, and we'll rendezvous at the restaurant in like, an hour?"

-Scene break-

Dean and Erin entered the dingy, generic motel room, and set their bags on the bed.

This act of temporary moving-in was so familiar that it was almost comforting.

"So, how did you guys find me anyway?"

"Sam had a hunch. A few people have been reported missing around those caves in the past few months."

"Seriously? Are we gonna go back? Sounds like our kind of thing."

"Maybe we ought to let it slide this time, kidlet. You had a pretty close call. And Sam isn't interested in hunting anymore. Not right now, anyway. I'll file this one away for later, huh? I just want to get you home, and safe."

Erin nodded. She disagreed, but she didn't feel like arguing with Dean at the moment. Not after he'd seemed to have forgiven her.

"I really _am_ sorry." Erin said. "For worrying you, I mean."

"I know." Dean said. "You can't go running off like that on your own, Erin. We got lucky this time, but you never know. Hunters have got to stick together. We attract ten kinds of weird everywhere we go."

"Yeah. Yeah, I guess. So you and Sam seem to be getting along." Erin remarked with a small smile.

"Don't look so smug, Erin." Dean playfully elbowed her. "Go get a shower. I'm starving, and you smell like rotten sushi."

"Mm, sushi sounds amazing right now."

"Since when? You hate sushi." Dean remarked. "Only Sam eats that crap."

"It sounds really good for some reason. Maybe we can get some for lunch."

Erin grabbed her soft lilac robe and her other shower things out of her suitcase and went in the bathroom. It would feel good to rinse off the previous, mysterious evening, and just move forward. She intended to rush through her shower, since she was profoundly ravenous. The promise of a hot breakfast was much too enticing for her to dawdle.

She undressed while the water warmed up and the small bathroom soon filled up with soothing steam. She shook her hair out of its messy ponytail, and tried to comb tangles out with her fingers as she stepped into the shower.

About ten seconds in, Erin's legs began to tingle like they were on fire. She lost her balance and fell against the white porcelain shower floor with a hard thud.

Inexplicably, where there had just been a pair of skinny, pale, and completely normal human legs, there was an elegant, shimmering sapphire-colored tail.

Erin did the only rational thing. She opened her mouth and screamed.

_Okay, so that was a pretty wicked cliffhanger. I think I've earned a review or two. ;) What are you guys thinking?_


	6. Grown Up Words

_Writing about a VHS player makes me feel nostalgic and old….anyhoo, enjoy this chapter and Happy New Year's! Bonus points to whoever can spot the nod to a dialogue line from Season Six!_

"No no no." Erin stomped her foot, putting her hands on her hips and standing as tall as her six-year-old frame would allow her. "You guys have watched Power Rangers for hours. I want to watch the Little Mermaid now!"

Dean pulled her braid and stuck out his tongue at her. "Little Mermaid is for babies." He said. "Like Hell we're watching that."

"You just used a grown-up word!" Erin accused, her eyes wide. "I'm telling Daddy!"

"Dad said I can do whatever I want because I'm the oldest. Didn't he, Sammy?" Dean crossed his arms triumphantly.

"Yeah, I guess so." Sam said. He didn't want to feed his brother's ego, but he really didn't want to watch a girl's movie, either. "We could play Power Rangers. You can be the pink ranger, Erin."

"I hate the pink ranger." Erin said. "Pink sucks."

"Pink is for girls. You're a girl, aren't you? That's why you want to watch a girl's movie." Sam said.

"I don't have to like pink 'cause I'm a girl. We can either watch the Little Mermaid, or I can be the black ranger."

Black was little Erin's favorite color, despite John and Bobby's efforts to push her toward brighter hues.

"I'm always the black ranger." Dean frowned. "You're the pink one."

"Fine. I'll be the blue one." She compromised.

"I'm always the blue one, Erin." Sam said. "Geez, just be the pink one."

"I'm telling Bobby that you guys are mean." Erin whimpered, feeling very ganged up upon.

"Ya know who tattles, Erin? Tattlers!" Dean accused.

"Bobby!" Erin threw her head back and screamed for her uncle, clutching her Little Mermaid VHS tape to her tiny chest.

Bobby rushed in to the living room, nearly tripping over a traffic jam of matchbox cars. "What in the Sam Hill are you kids doin' in here?"

"They won't let me watch my movie and they've been watching Power Rangers for hours and Dean is the black one and Sam is the blue one and they took both good colors and I don't want to be pink!" Erin made herself look pitiful, tears welling in her eyes. She held up her VHS tape to her uncle. "Pwease Unca Bobby." She simpered.

"What have I told you about baby talk, Erin Axel Winchester? Talk like a big girl."

"Please Uncle Bobby." She enunciated each word, twisting impatiently.

"She's outvoted." Dean said. "Two against one. It's fair."

"It is not fair!" Erin tearfully wailed, burying her head into her hands. "There's only one Erin and two Sams and Deans. There will always be more of them!"

Bobby rubbed his temples, summoning his patience.

"Sam, Dean, take turns with the VCR. Erin, quit bein' so darn dramatic."

"You're not seriously gonna make us watch a singing princess movie, are you?" Sam whined.

"It's Erin's turn. If you don't want to watch the movie, well, I bet there's plenty of work around the shop I could find for you two."

Erin stuck her tongue out at Dean in triumph. He returned the gesture.

"Kids, put your tongues back into your thick skulls before I have you outside picking up rocks."

All three children quickly straightened up. Picking up rocks in the South Dakota heat was no laughing matter, and they knew that Bobby did not make idle threats.

Bobby rolled his eyes and went back to sit by the long row of phones. He liked that the kids were getting to act like normal children for a day, but he had forgotten just how annoying normal children could be.

"We'll watch it." Dean surrendered, lightly tugging his sister's braid again.

"But we're not gonna like it." Sam tacked on, for good measure.

"Mermaids suck." Dean said, flopping onto the ratty sofa.

"So hard!" Sam added.

+Paragraph Break+

Dean had seen his sister through many, many things in her life. He'd often had to play mother and father to his younger siblings, when John had been away.

He'd driven Erin to her first dance, a Sadie Hawkin's ice cream social for sixth graders. He'd personally intimidated her date, a skinny boy with glasses, an unfortunate haircut, and a suit that was much too big for the boy who hadn't yet hit puberty.

And he'd let her cry on his shoulder when the little dope had broken Erin's heart by holding another little girl's hand by the punch bowl.

He'd given her 'the talk', sitting her and Sam right down together on the Impala's hood and knocking out two birds with one stone.

He'd taken her to Victoria's Secret for a bra fitting when he noticed the boys in her class leering at her chest, which was beginning to make all her shirts uncomfortably tight up top.

And God bless the man, he had taken his sister to Walmart and personally helped the miserable, cramping, red-faced twelve-year-old pick out the appropriate box of sanitary napkins after her first period had surprised them on a routine salt-and-burn. They were both out of their element, and equally confused, but with a little help from a sales associate, they had figured it out.

Nothing he had done up to this point had prepared him for the trauma of seeing his sister with a mermaid tail.

She had been screaming her head off, and he shortly realized that he had been, as well. But he'd managed to use his head. Water on, mermaid sister. Water off, human sister. He turned off the shower, and tossed her a towel, helping her up. He got another towel off the rack and started drying her off.

"Help me, here, kidlet." He managed, his heart pounding. His father's well-ingrained training stayed with him._ Work through the fear. Keep your wits. Solve the problem._

Erin had nodded, and frantically started towling off her upper half. "What the hell, Dean?"

There was an edge of fear to her voice that Dean was not accustomed to hearing, and it made him want to panic. He pushed that down, trying to remain calm for her sake.

"Hey, hey. Calm down. It's fine. You're fine. It's not even all that noticeable…um…"

"How….why….?" Erin sputtered. "This is…I mean, holy _fucking_ fuck!"

"Watch your goddamn language." Dean reprimanded with a small smile. Making her laugh always set her at ease, but she didn't even notice his attempt to cajole. "We're gonna fix this. Lots of hunters get turned into stuff by accident. You'd be surprised. Dad told me that he had a buddy up in Utah who …"

"Not helping, Dean." Erin said, feeling tears start to prickle behind her eyes. This was a disaster. An absolute, hundred-and-ten-percent, Hiroshima-sized disaster.

"Dad's gonna kill me! Worse than that, he may actually have to_ literally_ kill me!" Erin covered her face with her hands. "_Ohmygodohmygodohmygod_! I'm a monster. I'm a damn monster. I'm what we hunt, Dean!" Tears spilled over her cheeks as sobs wracked her body.

"No!" he smacked her, which did the trick of snapping her out of hysteria. "Do not talk like that. This is temporary. We'll fix it. You're not a monster. You're_ Erin_. Look at me. Look at me!"

She met her brother's determined green eyes.

"We are going to fix this. Look at that. You're turning back to normal right now. Hey, you're dry. Awesome. Legs. You've got legs again. Cover up with that towel and stand up. Can you stand up? You're a little shaky. Come on, it's okay. It's okay. I'm here. Come on. Let's get some clothes on you and get down to the bottom of this."

"The caves." Erin huffed, finding it difficult to breathe as her brother guided her off the slick tile floors and over to one of the big motel beds. He wrapped one of the comforters around her. She hadn't even realized that she'd been shaking until he did. "Sam said that people have been disappearing around those caves. This has to be connected somehow."

"How do you feel? You feel okay?"

"Physically? Yes. Emotionally? Absolutely not."

"Yeah, me too." Dean let out a shaky breath. "I'll call Sammy, okay? And we'll all three put our heads together and fix you. Just stay calm."

Erin nodded, wondering if she were in shock. Nothing felt real.

"Dad is going to kill me."

"Dad's not gonna know." Dean said. "Because we're gonna fix you. Immediately, kidlet. Don't get used to that fishtail, okay? Cause you'll be back to normal before you know it."

_Where do I go from here, guys? Please review and let me know if you'd like to hear more. What would you like to see happen?_


	7. And Poetry Helps Us How?

_Thanks for sticking with this story all the way to Chapter 7! I have the best readers!_

"I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each.

I do not think that they will sing to me.

I have seen them riding seaward on the waves,

Combing the white hair of the waves blown back.

When the wind blows the water white and black.

We have lingered in the chambers of the sea,

By sea-girls wreathed with seaweed red and brown,

Till human voices wake us, and we drown." Sam recited from his laptop. He'd come over immediately after his brother's frantic phone call.

"How is poetry gonna help us?" Dean hissed, taking another long swig of whiskey.

"Most mermaid lore is written as poetry. It's hard to find anything useful at all." Sam said.

Erin sat cross-legged on the bed, chop-sticking take out sushi into her mouth like her life depended on it. "It's like I've never tasted food before." She gave up on the clumsy chopsticks and just started using her hands. "Sashimi is awesome. Who'd have thunk it?"

"You're dealing with this well." Sam remarked. "It's only been like two hours and you're surprisingly calm."

"That music is calming me down." Erin remarked, offhandedly. "And anyway, no need to panic, right? Panicking gets you dead." She quoted her father.

"E, I'm not playing music." Sam said, slowly. "What music?"

"The music. It's like, instrumental. You're playing a CD, right?"

Dean moved over to his sister and put a hand on her forehead. "You sure you're feeling okay, kid?"

"I don't have fever, Dean. I have a tail." She brushed his hand away. "But that's so freaky. You guys really can't hear it? It's so beautiful." Tears welled up in her eyes again. "So first there's the whole half fish thing, and now there's a schizoid orchestra in my head that only I can hear. This just gets better and better."

She didn't tell them that the lovely, lilting music made her want to go swimming. Badly. She knew that that was a terrible idea, and that Dean would never allow it anyway. She was glad that he wouldn't, because the way the water was calling to her frightened her very much. But she could rely on her brothers to keep her nice and dry until she was back to normal.

"That's another clue, at least." Sam said, and typed something into the computer. "Ah. Yeah. Uh-huh. That makes sense."

"Feel like sharing with the class?" Dean asked him.

"It's called a "watersong"." He frowned at his sister. "Says here that it's a lure. Like, the constant call of the ocean. Sparks an irresistible desire to be in the water. And only beings with a magical connection to the sea can hear it. But you don't want to…I mean, wow, you're handling this all really well."

Erin frowned, feeling self-conscious. "I'm not going to the water, though." She asserted, even though the cloying melody seemed to buzz louder in her ears. The pull was beginning to feel even more insistent. She wanted nothing more than to run out of the motel room and jump into the sea.

"Damn right you're not." Dean said. "Why didn't you tell us that you've got some freaky ass magic song trying to pull you into the ocean? That's kind of an important detail."

"This whole thing is just sort of…mortifying, a little. I'm not human, Dean. And worse than that, something is happening to me that I can't control. I'm feeling things that I don't want to feel. And all of it is just sort of embarrassing."

"It's going to be…"

"_Okay_." Erin interrupted, testily. "Yeah, I know. You've said so a million times already. But what if it isn't? What if I'm stuck like this forever?"

"Don't think like that." Sam said, sharing a meaningful glance with Dean. "We'll get it all sorted out. See, look here. It says here that a human can only be transformed into a mermaid through blood magic, by another water-type creature. Like a naiad or a siren. So, that narrows down our monster. It had to be another mermaid that changed you."

"Blood magic?" Erin sighed. "That's one of the hardest kinds to undo."

"But, we know it can be undone." Sam said, encouragingly. "It's just the matter of finding the right recipe."

Erin nodded. "I'm gonna take a walk. I need some air."

"Not by yourself, you're not." Dean said. "Keep researching, Sammy. I'll take her."

"I'm not an invalid." Erin protested. "I just want to be alone for like five minutes."

"Like hell." Dean crossed his arms. "What if you got wet and someone saw you? Or what if the thing that turned you decides to go looking for you? I mean, it didn't turn you just for kicks, I'm guessing."

"I'll be fine. I have my hunting knife in my boot. Jesus, Dean. You're suffocating me." She made for the door, but Dean stepped in front of her, blocking her path.

"This is not the time for you to have one of your little dramatic meltdowns, Erin. You charging off, all reckless and impulsive? Maybe my memory is foggy, but isn't that what got you into this mess in the first place? Hmm?"

"Nothing is gonna happen, Dean." She said through her teeth. "And even if it did, could it get worse than this? I don't think so. So get out of my damn way."

"Hey, hey." Sam intervened, gently. "We're not good for anything when we're at each other's throats. Everybody, just calm down. Erin, you can be alone in the bathroom just as easily as you can in the parking lot, without taking any risks. See? Compromise makes sense, right?"

"Yeah, whatever." Erin took her tray of sushi and locked herself in the bathroom, scowling. Resisting the watersong was making her cranky, and she was hungry. Starving, no matter how much food she stuffed down.

Dean sighed when Erin was out of earshot, and sat down on the bed, holding his head in his hands.

"Give it to me straight, Sammy. What are our odds of getting her back to normal?"

"There should be a spell." Sam reasoned. "You can always undo blood magic, right? But we need our big guns on this one. We're gonna have to call Bobby. If anybody would have some good intel on something like this, it would be him."

"Yeah. Yeah, I figured." Dean sighed again. "I mean, oh my God. How does this even…"

"Yeah." Sam sighed, continuing to search. "Am I making the call or are you?"

"I'll do it." Dean said.

"Oh, look at this." Sam said. "Here's the whole spell for changing into a mermaid. Maybe we'll find the antidote, too."

"Yeah, because it's always just that easy." Dean snarked.

"The human has to be given the potion out of a white coral chalice, by a creature with a connection to water. The potion has to mixed under the light of a full moon…"

"Naturally." Dean rolled his eyes.

"It's fairly simple. Just seawater, tears of a mermaid, blood of a mortal, and blood of an immortal. Then you…oh. Oh, well…then you _drown them_. And when they come back to life…"

"They're full on Aquaman." Dean finished Sam's thought.

"At least Erin doesn't remember drowning, right? That's good." Sam said, and continued reading. He shuddered. "It says here that not everyone survives the transformation. That they have to have some connection to…to magic.

"Well, they hit the jackpot, snagging a hunter, didn't they? A hunter who comes from a line of witches, no less? Poor kid has just the right make-up to be changed, doesn't she?" Dean remarked, coldly. "But those bastards turned the wrong girl. I'm gonna slice up those sons of bitches like they're the catch of the day."

"Easy, Dean. We don't know what we're messing with. They can't die of natural causes, according to the lore. These things could be hundreds if not thousands of years old. Who knows what sort of powers they have? I mean, just listen to some of these. Hydrokinesis. Enchantment. Super-strength. Foresight. Mindreading. This could be way above our paygrade."

"So, you're saying that Erin could do all those things?"

"Probably. And whoever turned her can, too. And something tells me that they've probably had more practice with their superpowers."

"These things always have a downside. Does it say what that is?"

Sam shook his head. "There's not a lot of information here. At least, not really what we're looking for. Call Bobby. I'm gonna see if I can get E to quit sulking in the bathroom. I think she may be in shock or something."

"I think we're all in shock, Sam." Dean replied, pulling out his phone and punching in Bobby's number.

"Hey, Bobby. Yeah, I got her. Safe and sound. Anyway, um…hypothetically, say, we knew a guy who knew a guy who got turned into a mermaid. How would you go about curing that?"

"You bunch of idgits! Which one of you got yourselves transmogrified?"

"…Erin."

"Balls." Dean could hear the rattle of ice over the phone as Bobby made himself a drink. "How does that even happen? I swear, you Winchesters can't so much as run to a grocery store without finding some sort of trouble. Mermaids don't turn people for fun. They turn them to add to their pod. According to lore, whenever one mermaid dies, another one has to be made to take its place, or the rest of the pod can't survive. Is she with you? Because those fishy bastards will be coming to collect her sooner or later."

"Shit. I knew it. I knew something like that was going to happen. Anything else I should know?"

"Off the cuff, I don't remember all that much. I've got some books on it. I'll see what I can find. Hey, Dean. Hold off calling John until we dig a little deeper on this, okay? I don't imagine he's gonna be too pleased with his daughter having a tail."

"Don't need to tell us. We already decided that."

"Is Sam with you? She's gonna need all the moral support she can get. How's she holdin' up?"

"Yeah, he's here. And Erin's fine, considering. She's a tough kid. There's some crap about some watersong or something, but she's ignoring it. Don't worry. She's not gonna touch water _at all._ I'll make sure of it."

"You idgit! There's a reason why you don't see mermaids living in the damn Midwest. They have to be near an ocean to _survive._ They can't live on land all the time. She'll dry out. Get that kid into some water for at least part of the day."

"But those things could be in the water, too, Bobby. What happens then?"

"Deal with keeping your sister from turning into jerky. I'll look into a cure. And a weapon that can stop the others. Mermaids are immortal, but if it bleeds, you can kill it."

"Awesome." Dean said, feeling very much like he needed to kill something. "Call as soon as you find anything. Sam's researching here, too."

"Just stay alive. The three of you. And don't you and Sam go getting yourselves turned, either. _Winchesters_!" he pronounced the word like it was an explicative, and hung up the phone.

_There will be more action in the next chapter, I promise. Just had to lay some groundwork for things to come. Please review if you're enjoying this. I love to hear what you guys want. _


	8. Thralls

_Special thanks to my ultimate reviewer, Mayrem! They have been my best supporter and motivator for this piece! Thanks bunches!_

Sam woke up in his chair, his forehead stuck on his row of laptop keys. Groggily, he noticed Dean heavily sleeping on top of his coverlet, knife clenched in one hand. He yawned as his eyes rested on Erin, who was sitting awake in bed, her face illuminated by the dull glow of late-night television.

"You know," Erin whispered, "If any of us could get as excited at anything in life as these people do about Oxyclean, well, the world would just be such a happy place."

"Infomercials? Get some sleep, E." Sam looked at his watch. "It's three a.m."

"I can't sleep. You were having a nightmare."

"Mind-reading?" Sam rubbed at his eyes. "So the lore was right."

Erin nodded grimly. "Dean is dreaming about a dessert buffet. And supermodels."

Sam chuckled lightly in spite of the situation. "The heart what it wants, Erin."

Erin sighed and closed her eyes, leaning her head against the wall, hugging a pillow to her chest.

"How you holding up?" He asked gently, and went to sit by her. He took her hand, so small in his, her black nail polish chipped around the edges. Her skin was terribly dry, he noticed. Were her eyes red from lack of sleep or from lack of water?

Dean had tried to get her to swim, just for a moment, based on Bobby's advice, but Erin hadn't been comfortable with it.

"It's not that I don't want to. It's _how much_ I want to that scares me. I don't want to open a door I can't close." She'd said, and nothing her brothers said could coax her into so much as a bathtub.

"I'm okay." Erin said, automatically. "The watersong is, well, I mean, it's kinda awful. But I'm dealing. And the mind reading is…different. But you and Dean pretty much say what you're thinking, anyway. So it's not like there's any trauma there or anything."

"We're going to undo this, you know." Sam said, gently. "You don't have to deal with this much longer. You're doing great, by the way. For somebody so freakishly short, you're the toughest person I know."

Erin laughed. "For somebody so freakishly tall, you're the sweetest person I know. Thanks, Sammy."

"Anytime, E."

"Hey." Erin said, pausing. "Do you hear that?"

"What?" Sam reached for his gun, old habits quickly returning. Erin grabbed her pistol from the bedside table.

"The music stopped. I don't hear it anymore."

"Shouldn't that be a good thing?" Sam asked, shaking Dean awake. "Hey, Erin hears something."

Dean snapped up, wielding his knife. "What? What is it?"

"It's quiet." Erin whispered, getting up to peek out the bedroom curtains. "Except for the wind."

The wind began to howl at an abrupt speed, howling like a tornado outside.

"Erin, get away from the window!" Dean barked, just as the glass in the pane shattered open and the motel door blew wide.

A sandy-haired young man made a grand entrance, wind whipping around him, his hands extended into the air, controlling the spiraling gusts that surrounded them all. A tanned, dark-haired beauty followed him, her muscled body moving like an animal of prey. Three more hung back, a few feet away, all lovely and female. One was a lithe African American woman, another was a petite blonde with a pixie cut, and the last woman was mousy-haired and tall. None of them looked particularly interested in the matter. Not the way the pair in front were.

"Oh, my dear." The man lowered his hands and strode over to Erin. "You're bleeding."

A shard of glass from the window had sliced a cut across her cheek. The man reached out and wiped away a bit of blood with his thumb. He returned his thumb to his mouth, sampling the taste of her blood with a coy smile. "There. All better."

A shot resounded as Dean fired a round into the man's chest. Lazy smoke curled away from a gaping hole in his breast. The man smiled.

"Goodness, that smarts a bit. Hello, hunter. You are hunters, I'm assuming? My name is Petrichor, of the Oceanids, son of…"

"Whoever you are, you can get the hell away from my sister." Dean said. "If a bullet doesn't kill you, well, we'll find some other way."

Petrichor rolled his eyes, ignoring Dean and continuing his monologue. "This is my sister, Petra. She's a dashing girl, I must say. Perhaps you'd like a chat with her, eh? While I retrieve my bride you morons stole from me? Come along, Erin. We haven't got all day."

"I'm not yours, you creep." Erin pulled her knife out of her boot and held it up against him. "You can get the hell out of here. But before you do that, you can change me back. Now."

Petrichor threw back his head and laughed.

"Oh, you're funny. What a funny little woman you are. You think you've got a choice, don't you?"

"I wouldn't try my brother's patience." Petra smiled, showing off a row of shockingly white, polished sharp teeth.

"You'd better not try ours." Sam said, splashing holy water on the lovely monster.

Petra fell to the floor as her tail appeared, laughing. "Holy water makes no difference. And silver hardly chafes. There's nothing you can do to us." She closed her thorny mouth and began to hum, softly at first, then louder.

Dean lowered his gun, and Sam did the same. Their eyes unfocused, bleary and captivated, and as Petra began to sing, they dropped to their knees, their weapons clattering to the floor.

"What the hell are you doing to them?" Erin screeched, as Petrichor restrained her. "Stop it!"

Petra's voice was luscious and smooth, tender and poignant all at once as she sang. "Of his bones are coral made; Those are pearls that were his eyes: Nothing of him that doth fade, But doth suffer a sea-change, Into something rich and strange. Sea-nymphs hourly ring his knell…"

"Shut up!" Erin screamed at her. "Let them go!"

"Now, now, my dear. Why would I do that, exactly? They're such handsome thralls." Petra kissed the mesmerized pair of brothers and laughed. "They're mortals. I can do as I please with them. Shall I kill them myself? Or make them kill one another? I think that would be entertaining."

"I will gank you, sea bitch." Erin spat.

Petrichor laughed, tightening his hold on her. "My word, someone's cranky. A little food, some saltwater, a touch of moonlight, and you'll be right as rain."

"Eat me, Aquaman." Erin bit his hand, which only amused him further.

"I love that fire. I knew there was something special about you. Fire and ice, we'll be. Petra, I grow tired of these games. Dispose of the thralls and let's be on our way."

"Don't touch them!" Erin said.

"You're young yet." Petrichor soothed. "You've not lived long enough to see how quickly mortals expire. Most of them don't even last a century. Give it a millennia or two, and you won't even remember these shaggy land-apes."

"Touch my brothers, and I'll kill all of you. I _will_ find a way. Maybe not now. Maybe not a year from now. But I will do it. And to hear you talk, it sounds like I'll have plenty of time to get around to you guys dying bloody."

Petrichor frowned. "Hold on, a moment, Petra, my sweet."

Petra was astride Dean, stroking his hair, her sharp teeth just a few inches from his vulnerable throat, ready to tear it open. She sighed, annoyed at the interruption.

"What?" She stepped away from her prisoners.

"Leave the thralls. For my bride. As a wedding gift." He beamed at Erin. "You see, my sparkling star? I'm not the bad guy. They may keep their lives."

"And have her break the spell." Erin demanded. "Put them back to normal."

"Well that's easily done." Petrichor snapped his fingers, and the boys started awake as if from a deep sleep.

"What the hell?" Sam shook his head to clear it.

"The sea bitch whammied you." Erin explained.

"Hey! Get your hands off her!" Dean groped for his weapon, but Petra pinned him against a wall. Sam came for her, but she placed a dangerously sharp finger nail over Dean's carotid artery.

"Easy, there. Take a step back, or I tear his throat out. Petrichor, can we wrap this up? All this talk of blood and throats makes me hungry."

"Okay, so here's the deal." Petrichor said, mostly to Erin. "I let your mortals walk away. If you promise to come quietly. You're mine, you see. I turned you for this purpose."

"And they can't come after you, either." Petra tacked on. "Or I eat their hearts." She smiled at the idea, and lasciviously ran her tongue over Dean's lips, clearly savoring the idea.

"What is with you, lady?" he sputtered.

"I hate mouthy men." Petra purred into his ear. "I prefer them silent and obedient. You'd just look fantastic if you'd shut that stupid mouth."

"Is harassing them part of the deal, _husband_?" Erin quipped. "Rein in your attack bitch or no deal."

Petra hissed at Erin, her red lips curling over two sets of pearly razors. "Learn your place, you disgusting little brat."

"Petra." Petrichor scolded. "That's no way to talk to my bride."

Petra hissed again, but crossed her arms over her chest.

"She's not going anywhere with you freaks." Dean asserted. "Over my dead body."

"Dean." Erin said. She could hear what he was thinking, clear as day, and she knew that he would never give up. Sam would never give up, either.

She couldn't hear what the mermaids were thinking. She guessed that her new power only applied to humans, but she didn't need a magical advantage to know what was happening. These creatures were powerful. More powerful than almost anything else they'd ever hunted. And they were outclassed, outnumbered. There was no fighting their way out of this one.

Making a deal was her only option to keep her brothers alive. It would buy them time to make a better plan than sitting on their asses and researching.

"I'm gonna go with Harpsicord." Erin said, trying not to look her brothers directly in the eyes. She didn't want to see the hurt.

"Petrichor." the man corrected.

"Whatever. This is the only way." She explained. "I love you guys. Stick together, alright? Give my love to Bobby, and Dad." She smiled, trying not to cry. This was only temporary, she told herself. Until she could figure out some other way to fix this mess.

"No." Dean said, firmly. "There's no way that you're just gonna…"

"_Sleep."_ Petra impatiently sang, rolling her eyes. "_And wake when the sun rises."_

Sam and Dean slumped to the floor, motionless but breathing.

"Okay." Erin sighed, trying very hard to appear strong. _Never show monsters your weaknesses_, her father's words echoed in her skull. "So, where do you guys live, exactly?"

_So there's the next installment! What do you guys think? Leave a comment to let me know! _

_Also, I'll be giving a shout-out to whoever can guess what classic literature Petra's song comes from! _

_Hope you enjoyed it!_


	9. Sisters

_Sorry for the short hiatus! Started grad school, so I've been insanely busy. Hopefully this longer chapter makes up for it. Thanks for following this story,and for reviewing! Enjoy! _

Dean woke up first, as the first rays of light slanted through what remained of the scraggy motel blinds. God, what a weird dream he'd had. Why was he on the floor? And where was…

He bolted upright as soon as the night's events came rushing back to him. He jumped upright and nudged his brother, who still slumbered on the hideous motel carpet.

"Sam! Sammy, wake up! They've got Erin. Wake up!"

Sam pried his eyes open. "What happened? We were…and then we…oh my God. Erin."

"Yeah, yeah. Get up. Call Bobby. Call Dad. We need backup." Dean picked his gun off of the floor, his hands shaking.

"No." Sam said, thinking. "No, they're useless and so are we. You saw how fast we fell under the siren's spell. We need a woman."

"Ellen?" Dean mentioned the first name that had popped into his head. Ellen Harvelle hadn't always gotten along with John Winchester, but they had reconciled as Erin got older and needed some female interaction. Ellen had stepped up to the plate and been like an aunt to Erin.

"You know any other women hunters who would risk going up against something like this?" Sam asked. "You call Ellen and Bobby, and I'll hit the research. Maybe there's something that can make us immune to the siren's song. We're no good in a fight as long as we're vulnerable to that."

Dean nodded, noticing that Sam hadn't mentioned their father at all, but tried to ignore it. They had bigger fish to fry, after all. His fingers were itching to kill something.

Scene Break

Erin clutched the letter opener in her fist, hiding it as best she could under the covers.

First, the merpeople had taken her to an enormous beach house, overlooking the sea from a gorgeous cliff. They had left her in the care of the three silent members of the group, in a grand and lavish master bedroom. The blonde one, her hair cut into a neat pixie shape, had helped Erin into a short gown of lavender colored satin, trimmed with frothy white lace.

"Lingerie? Really? You're getting me ready for my wedding night?" Erin had obstinately said. "I dare the bastard to touch me."

But the three hadn't spoken. They silently attended her. The blonde woman frowned and squeezed Erin's hand in comfort, her icy blue eyes expressive.

"I've never even been past first base with a guy." Erin remarked, trying to put on a brave face. The women turned and walked out, as quiet as ever, taking Erin's folded clothes with them.

"Son of a bitch." Erin had muttered, and had perused the room for anything she could use as a weapon. Not that it would work, she figured, since bullets hadn't phased Petrichor in the least. But still, she wasn't going to give up without a fight. She had been pleased to find a sharp silver letter opener in a bureau drawer.

She felt vulnerable in nothing but the wispy fabric, so she crawled under the coverlet on the huge, overstuffed bed, holding fast to her weapon.

She waited for a few minutes, her heart pounding, when the door opened with a whiny creak. Petrichor smiled, and made his way toward the bed.

"Hello, my lovely." He told her. "Ready for bed so soon? Well, you've had quite a long day." He yawned. "I shall turn in as well. I suspect we'll be up early for swimming, yes?"

Her heart pounded. _Lay down, you scaly freak. Lay down and relax so I can stab you through your heart., _she thought, as he got underneath the covers, stretching out alongside her.

She flinched as he rolled over, facing her.

"Don't touch me." She spat, and he frowned.

"I'm no monster." He asserted. "I don't want a wife for um…" Petrichor nearly flushed. "Not for…not for _sex."_

"Oh?" Erin let out a relieved breath she hadn't known she'd been holding.

"My word, no. I desire companionship, only. I've never been able to sleep properly in an empty bed. So I use my wives."

"Wives who you don't sleep with? Not that I'm complaining."

"I'm gay, Erin. Completely gay." Petrichor laughed. "But the curse is very clear. There can only be one merman. The rest of the pod must be female. So I endure."

"Gay? Well, that's a surprise." Erin sat up, brandishing her weapon. "Not as much of a surprise as sprouting a fishtail in the shower, though."

"I'm horribly sorry about all that." Petrichor frowned. "I left you for a few moments and then you were gone. I thought one of the pod would be around when you awoke. To break the news gently."

"I'd like to be changed back, please." Erin said. "I don't want to be here."

"Now, now. A deal's a deal. Petra will tear your brothers to shreds. She wants to, badly. They live only out of the goodness of my heart. Only I may reign Petra in."

"Well, I appreciate it, but…I mean, it's not fair. I didn't ask to be this way."

"Not one of us asked for it." Petrichor rolled his eyes. "Now, are you going to babble on all night or shall I fetch Viola?"

"I'm sorry if I have a few questions after being turned into a monster and kidnapped." Erin shot up out of bed, kicking the covers off her legs. "Fetch Viola, then." She mocked.

"Fine. You shall sleep with the others. Until you are better settled into the life." He yawned. "My, but you're being such trouble. Girls in my time were never such trouble. Very well, then. You'll sleep with the sisters for the evening. But you'd better fix that attitude before tomorrow night."

"What happens tomorrow night?" Erin asked, tentatively.

"It's game night." Petrichor said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "And nobody likes to play Monopoly with a negative Nelly like you."

"Ah. I see. Game night." Erin sighed. _This guy is insane. Awesome._

"Yes. Now march down the hall to the girl's room and fetch Viola for me. The one on the left, not the right. That room is Petra's. And try to keep it down. Petra will be quite cross with you if you wake her."

"I'll try." Erin said, and hastily exited the room. The soft carpet did an excellent job of masking the sound of her footsteps. She wondered how far she could run before one of them caught up to her. Could it be that simple? Could she bolt down the hall, down the stairs, and out the front door? Just like that?

Moonlight emanated through a bay window at the end of the hallway, catching Erin's eye. It was supremely beautiful, and she took a tentative step toward it. Had she ever seen anything so lovely? She pressed her forehead against the window's glass, marveling at the view of the moon as it glinted on the ocean's dark surface. The watersong pounded in her ears, overwhelming and irresistible.

"You want to go for a swim?" A clear voice asked behind her, startling her from her dazed reverie.

"Huh?" She blinked a few times, feeling disoriented. She turned to see the blonde woman standing behind her.

"I heard someone get out of bed. So I figured I should check on things. Are you alright, little one?" The blonde woman caressed Erin's hair in a familiar, maternal gesture. The woman spoke in a light English accent.

"He wants Viola." Erin explained. "I was talking too much. And then I came out here and…" her voice trailed off, trying to remember. How long had she been standing at the window?

"You fell under the moon spell. It's okay. Happens to the best of us. Just try not to let it get to you. It gets easier with time. It's not so intoxicating, after a while. Petrichor should have known better, sending you out here by yourself. Would you like to go swim? It'll help clear your head."

"No." Erin lied. She wanted it more than anything.

The blonde woman gave her a knowing look, as if to say, "I know that isn't true, but okay."

"I'm Elspeth." The woman introduced herself.

"I'm Erin. Winchester." Erin said, morosely.

"Come on, Erin. Let's get you out of this moonlight, huh? And maybe we can answer a few of your questions."

"Well, first, how can you kill a mermaid?" Erin snarked.

Elspeth threw back her head and laughed. "Tell me what you really think, little hunter."

"Why have people been vanishing around here? Did you turn them, like me? Or did you kill them?"

Elspeth ushered Erin into the nearby bedroom doorway, ignoring her accusations. The other two women were painting their toenails.

"Alright, m'dear. Meet your new sisters. That one there in the green is Viola." Elspeth pointed to the leggy African American woman, who was brushing turquoise polish onto her nails. "And that one there is Frances-call-me-Frankie." Elspeth pointed to a tall brunette, who smiled at Erin.

"Ladies, this is Erin."

"Hey, E." Viola greeted, in a pert Australian accent. Erin scowled. Only Sam was allowed to call her E.

"Don't call me E. I'm not your sister. Viola, right? Captain Dickwad wants you."

Viola frowned. "He does this every time my nail polish is wet!" Erin's rudeness seemed to be taken in stride, which almost made her feel bad. Almost.

Viola sat up and carefully made her way to the door. "Goodnight. See you guys in the morning. And be careful with the new girl." Viola winked at Erin. "She's a little spitfire if I've ever seen one."

"Is it true that you and your brothers are hunters?" Frankie asked, interested. "We hardly ever see hunters anymore."

"Family business, born and bred." Erin said, crossing her arms. "Why are you all being so nice to me? Just because we're all monsters doesn't mean that we're best friends all of a sudden."

"Because you're family, and family sticks together." Elspeth explained. "The way you gave yourself up for your brothers, I'd expect you to understand that."

"That was so brave." Frankie told her.

"Yeah, well, it's what we do." Erin replied.

"Do you want me to paint your nails?" Frankie offered. "We've got lots of colors."

"You want to paint my nails, and Petrichor wants to play Monopoly. Blondie here wants to swim. Am I the only person here that realizes what has just happened to me? No, I don't want my nails painted!"

"Erin." Elspeth patted her hand. "You're scared, and a lot is changing. It's normal to be angry. But we mean well, honestly. It's a weird life, and it would be a lonely life without one another. We just want to help you through this transition."

"I'm going to change back." Erin said, obstinately.

"Don't say that!" Frankie cautioned. "Do you want Petra to kill your brothers? To kill y_ou_? She will, if you keep saying things like that."

"Bide your time, little hunter." Elspeth advised. "What will be will be. But be careful. Petra is very rash and dangerous."

"I'm not scared of that bitch." Erin replied, obstinately.

"Just let me paint your nails." Frankie rolled her eyes. "Jeez, Miss Macho. Calm down before you end up getting yourself hurt. What color do you want?"

"If I let you paint my nails, will you answer my questions? Honestly?"

"We're your sisters. You can trust us." Elspeth promised.

"Why did Petrichor turn me?" Erin asked, sitting on the bed and allowing Frankie to apply dark violet polish to her toe nails.

"There must always be six of us, or the pod will die within a fortnight." Elspeth answered.

"So who am I a replacement for?" Erin asked, and the two older women lowered their heads.

"Reiko." Elspeth said the name gently, holding back tears.

"Did Petra kill her?"

"Suicide." Frankie said, her eyes distant and full of pain.

"I'm sorry."

"She lived a long life." Elspeth said. "A good one." She wiped her eyes with the backs of her hands, trying to keep her composure. "Next question, please."

"Okay…um. Why do I want to get in the water so bad?"

"It's the watersong. Part of the curse. It will only truly subside when you're in the sea. Which is glorious. You have to get in sometime. You'll die if you don't."

"Why? And what curse?"

"Because you need water to live. And it's the curse of Amphitrite. Oceanus and Tethys were Titans, and had children called Oceanids. Petrichor and Petra were their twins. They had four other siblings: Aglaope, Peisinoe, and Thelpexia. Each of the Oceanids had a responsibility to be guardians over water. Amphitrite, Poseidon's wife, got anything she wanted. And she wanted Petrichor, who spurned her advances.

"He was in love with a princeling from Anthemusa. This enraged Amphitrite, and she tried to murder him. Petra got between them, and killed the goddess. With her dying breath, she placed a curse on all the Oceanids. They became monsters. Poseidon never let them live an easy life, not as long as he lived."

"One by one, their sisters died. And each time, they had to be replaced by a new mermaid. Which is why we're here." Frankie added.

"What are the particulars of the curse? Anything big I ought to know?"

Frankie and Elspeth exchanged furtive glances.

"Well, um, there have to be six of us to live. We have to be near the sea, always. But there are advantages, as well. We have our powers, which are handy. And we have one another. We can't really die, not by natural causes, anyway."

"Oh, quit tiptoeing around. Things like this always have a catch. A major catch. What's the fine print here?"

"To remain alive, we require…sustenance." Elspeth said, gently.

"Oh. So is that why I've been so hungry since I've turned? I just can't stay full."

"That's because you haven't been eating what your body needs." Frankie explained.

"Which is?" Erin asked, her heart dreading the answer. The way the women danced around the question made her anxious.

"_Human hearts_." Elspeth blurted. "The hearts of men, most specifically."

Erin got very still and very pale.

"Oh, son of a bitch." She ran a trembling hand through her hair. "That's quite a catch."

_Well, how was that for fine print? Please leave a review! They're really great motivators for posting new material! I've got some great surprises in store for the next chapters, and perhaps some very familiar faces will make an appearance! Any guesses as to who? And what do you think about the other mermaids? _


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